If you can't wait for our September discussion of Set This House in Order, Matt Ruff reports that he is participating in an online discussion of the book with a German reading group. Don't let the German bit scare you; most of the posts are in English. They are working their way through Chapters 4 and 5 right now and, based on the lively discussion, seem to be enjoying what they've read so far. Via Ruff's LiveJournal, A Burning Dog Needs No Chimney.

By the way, Ruff has a new one coming out later this year and is gearing up for a book tour. Bad Monkeys will be released at the beginning of August. The synopsis:

Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder.

She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called "The Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons"—"Bad Monkeys" for short.

This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail's psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy—or playing a different game altogether.